Long Overdue Matisse Photoshoot!

[SharkBait]

It occurred to me that I hadn't went on a little photo shoot with my own dog Matisse in so long, and after looking through all the picture threads here I felt motivated to take some new photos of my little one!

So I took him to a local park and brought my DSLR and some treats. Luckily he hasn't forgotten how to pose for me!

Matisse VSCO'd by KeizGoesBoom, on Flickr

Matisse in Castle Park by KeizGoesBoom, on Flickr

Matisse by KeizGoesBoom, on Flickr

Matisse - Tree Climber Extraordinaire by KeizGoesBoom, on Flickr

Matisse in Castle Park by KeizGoesBoom, on Flickr

Scruff. by KeizGoesBoom, on Flickr

Happy Dog is Happy by KeizGoesBoom, on Flickr

Thought i'd share the editing process since I'm always interested in how others edit their photos.

So the first shot is the original shot from my camera. It's under-exposed, the colour temperature is off and generally needs some work. The light was quite dim when I took the photos but I really didn't want to exceed ISO 800 in order to keep the noise levels down, but I took the photo in RAW so I had plenty of editing freedom in Lightroom, as i could up the exposure without making the photo much noisier (grainy).

I then adjusted the exposure, contrast, saturation etc and made the photo a little warmer. Since Matisse is black and scruffy, I usually have the use the brush in Lightroom to lighten his eyes and around his eyes so they pop a little more!

I wanted to try something different. I recently got ahold of the VSCO presets, anyone checked them out? - http://visualsupply.co/
They recreate the old film camera processing, a look I quite like. So the last picture in the sequence has had a VSCO filter applied to it.

Anyways, I'd love to see how you guys edit and read about what software etc you use

 

[TheAllredBunch]

Soo cute!

 

[yv0nne]

That second photo is just lovely! Nice to see the editing process ..I should do that sometime but just never think to save my progressions aha

 

[SaraB]

Very nice photos!! He's a handsome guy.

 

[DJEtzel]

Adorable little guy!

 

[JacksonsMom]

Really adorable dog! What kind is he? And great photos too

 

[Equinox]

Incredible!! I was just thinking about how much I loved the editing on this set.

Right now I just hope and pray I can salvage a bad picture. I've been browsing various actions for inspiration, though! Thanks for sharing your process, it really helps!!

 

[Dizzy]

Great pics!

I wish more people shared their editing too!

 

[SharkBait]

Thanks everyone

Really adorable dog! What kind is he? And great photos too

Thanks a lot
He's a mongrel really - I can't be entirely sure on his breed(s) as I got him from a shelter and staff there only saw the mother, which they described as a "small collie." I definitely believe there's some Tibetan Terrier in there though, he looks very similar to one and shares many of same personality traits!

Incredible!! I was just thinking about how much I loved the editing on this set.

Right now I just hope and pray I can salvage a bad picture. I've been browsing various actions for inspiration, though! Thanks for sharing your process, it really helps!!

Aw thank you! Do you shoot your pictures in RAW? And do you use Lightroom or anything to edit your photos? If you do I could email you a bunch of presets I sometimes use, they're great to try out different effects on your photos and see how it's done!

I think the more you experiment the better you get. I looked back at photos I'd taken at a dog show 2 years ago and the editing was awful. I thought I'd developed a nice style, trying to make the photos look vintagey but really it was awful haha. I think sticking with more classic looks suit my photography better, I definitely like punching up contrast and brightness in general.

Oh and I'm like that too about salvaging photos. Half the work is taking the photo, half of it is the editing process. So don't let it frustrate you too much if the photos aren't perfect straight away, just keep at it.